DC fire chief says EMS 'not broken' despite 'total failures'

Police investigating death of 2-year-old

By Michael Neibauer The Washington Examiner

WASHINGTON, DC — D.C. residents who require emergency medical assistance are in good hands despite a "major breakdown in protocol" when a paramedic declined to take a toddler to the hospital who was struggling to breathe, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin claims.

D.C. police are investigating the death of 2-year-old Stephanie Stevens to see whether there was criminal negligence by the paramedic crew that responded to her home Feb. 10 but did not to take her to the hospital. Stephanie's mom called 911 a second time, 10 hours later, as the girl's breathing worsened. She died the next day.

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